The village contracted with North Carolina-based company PassportParking to provide the new service, Velan said. Through the agreement, all of the 35-cent fees go to the company. The village could see revenue increases if the program causes more people to pay for more parking, but is not collecting any fees, Velan said.

The program includes an option to be texted a reminder to add parking 15 minutes before a space expires. Parking minutes may be added remotely at no extra fee after the initial payment.

Each of the approximately 4,000 paid public parking spaces in Oak Park will have a sticker with a phone number to call and with a code for smartphone users to scan. Both metered spots and kiosk spots will be part of the program. Drivers will have to register with PassportParking – a process Velan said takes about a minute – to use the program. During the program's first weekend, PassportParking staff will be offering assistance to parkers around town, she said.

The only cost to the village was an upfront payment of about $3,000 to buy smartphones for parking enforcement officers. Through the program, parking enforcement officers and police officers will be able to see where parkers who use the program have run out of time, she said. The officers will not be able to tell when parkers who pay with coins are delinquent.